Points of interest when choosing to buy MP3s

Affordable or luxurious, cheap or high-priced, the MP3 market has both. But when buying, customers should pay attention to capacity factors, screens, extensions, battery or file formats that the device supports.

Storage technology

In general, MP3 players will use several formats to store music files on this device, either flash memory, or a hard drive. Flash memory is often placed in low-capacity models (128 MB to more than 1 GB). Therefore, music enthusiasts can use the device containing the hard drive to save more with more perfect sound quality. Currently Apple's iPod or Creative Zen are aiming to use 40 GB hard drives in their products.

iPod - a popular product on the market with excellent music playback, video playback and large capacity hard drives.Photo: Icnetwork .

One of the outstanding advantages of flash memory is "solid state". This is the term used to refer to devices that do not contain any removable parts. This also means that the hardware of the machine is less damaged, longer battery life and can accompany you in sports activities, dancing . without problems.

In addition, there are several other formats for MP3 players like the tiny CD in the Classic CM343R model.

Capacity

MP3s can store a certain number of files, depending on the file type. MP3 format can be encoded at speeds from 64 Kb / sec to 320 Kb / sec. Files with low bit rates use less disk space / memory but the quality is not as good as the sound you often hear on the radio, and vice versa.

Classic CM343R uses a tiny CD storage technology.Photo: Compunet-web.

Usually a 128 MB MP3 can store about 25 5MB files running at 128 Kb / sec (about 5 minutes long). Devices using a 40GB hard drive like an iPod can store 8,000 songs like that.

Some manufacturers also allow adding memory via an expansion card slot in SD or MMC format with capacities from 128 MB to 512 MB or more.

File format

The name MP3 does not seem "fair" to this type of product because they can read several other formats such as WMA (Window's Media Audio) or WAV (Microsoft's Waveform Audio).

Some other devices support less popular formats like AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) and AAC (Advanced Audio Coding). Because the Apple iPod supports a variety of formats that other devices do not, sharing files of this type requires conversion software. (You can search by typing keywords containing the format names and "convert software" in Google).

Screen

MP3 players all have screens to help users interact with the device. The bigger the screen, the more information is displayed and easier to see. The basic information on the screen includes the status of the device, the file name in use, the size of the sound .

The 2-inch LCD screen on the iPod displays a lot of details such as menus, song titles, volume, date / time, battery status, and can show video . iRiver with foldable design and LCD screen up to 4.3 inches wide.

Battery type and duration

PSP not only plays MP3 but also has many other attractive functions.Photo: Pspworld .

These are important factors for a mobile device. Many types are now equipped with rechargeable batteries and allow charging as soon as the battery is still in the device. Some can charge via USB port, quite handy.

The manufacturer sometimes does not officially announce the capacity of the battery. Therefore, before buying, you should read the review articles about the product. Some types with AAA batteries can last 30 hours for each charge, while AA batteries only last 10 hours.

However, for iPod users, batteries are a concern. It is difficult to replace batteries in the machine when "dead". Users need to bring the device to Apple warranty service to change the battery.

Extended feature

Many MP3 players create other diverse functions, not just playing music. For example MSI MegaPlayer 515 has FM, voice recording capability; Creative Zen also plays videos and displays still images on a 3.8-inch color screen; iAudio X5 plays music, plays movies, browses text . Sony's PSP is truly a comprehensive portable entertainment device with music, video, gaming, TV signals, network connectivity. .